A real home (dadvid fanfic)

Chapter six: Nightmare

David was awoken by the sounds of sobbing. He quickly got out of bed and rushed to Max's room.

"Max?!" David said with alarm.

He saw Max crying in his sleep. David walked over to Max and scooped him up in his arms.

"Max?" He said gently.

Max's eyes shot open and he stared up at David.

"D-David?" He said.

"I'm here Max." David said reassuringly.

Max hugged David tightly while softly crying into his shirt. David held Max until his crying died down and he felt his breath even out. He was asleep. David laid Max down in the bed gently and tucked him in. He sat on the bed and watched Max for awhile. David stood up and let out a sigh.

"Poor kid." He said quietly closing the door and heading back to his room.

Morning

David and Max were eating breakfast silently when David spoke up.

"Did you have a nightmare last night?" He asked.

Max froze.

"Yeah...I-I don't want to talk about it." Max said shuddering, remembering his father's wrath.

He knew it was just a dream but it felt so real. Every punch, every slap, all of it felt real. Max was snapped out of his thoughts when David spoke.

"Max, are you okay?" David asked, worried.

"Yeah." He said quickly.

Max finished his breakfast and immediately went to his room. He locked the door and walked up to the mirror on the wall. He touched the small scar under his eye and let out a shaky sigh. Memory after memory played out in Max's head. He felt tears begin to stream down his face. Max sat on the floor and tucked his knees into his chest. He again began to softly cry.

Suddenly there was a knock on Max's door. Max quickly wiped his tears away and sat on his bed.

"C-Come in." He said.

David walked in and walked up to Max.

"Are you sure you're okay Ma-" David stopped in the middle of his sentence when he saw Max's red, puffy eyes.

"Max have you been crying?" David asked concerned.

"N-No!" Max said sniffling, another tear accidentally escaping his eyes.

David sat on the Bed next to Max.

"Max, please tell me what's wrong. I want to help you but you have to tell me what's going on." David said, wiping a tear from Max's face.

Max sighed.

"Okay... I had a nightmare about my parents. I was back at my old house and my parents were arguing and then they saw me a-and they-they..."

Tears were now freely flowing down his face as he struggled to continue.

"They beat me." He choked out.

David immediately hugged Max.

"Max, I...I know it's hard to forget something like that but, you're here now with me and I promise as long as I'm here they will never hurt you again. Okay?" David said.

"O-Okay." Max said hugging David tightly.

They hugged until Max slowly pulled away.

"Thank you, Dad." Max said.

Shit. Max thought to himself.

"I-I mean Davi-"

He was cut off by David.

"Aw, Max." David said with a huge grin on his face.

"Cool whatever I don't care fuck you!" Max said flustered.

"Max don't be embarrassed-"

"Nope get outta my room." Max said pushing David towards the door.

"Come on now Max. I see as a compliment!" David said.

Max shoved him out of the room and slammed the door. He sighed with relief  and hopped onto his bed. Despite the embarrassment Max did feel a lot better now. He was actually glad he told David about the nightmare, It really took a weight off his shoulders. He pulled an old DS from his backpack and played Mario cart for the rest of the day.